Contents

History

Childhood

Artemis was presumably born after Wolverine and Jean Grey had an affair. He was abandoned as a child and he was adopted by a Skrull who was exiled for helping the human during the Secret Invasion. This Skrull adopted Artemis and gave him the name of Drake Gibson. He was raised in the Skrull's ship, constantly roaming the galaxy. His powers were dormant for most of his life, not knowing he was one of the most powerful mutants ever. However, when he sensed his "mother"'s death, his powers erupted, killing his adoptive Skrull father. He then takes to Earth in search of his father.

True Parentage

Artemis spent nearly four years roaming the Earth in search of Wolverine.

Artemis in his teenage years

One day he saw a television transmission of the X-Men and the Avengers in battle over the Phoenix Force. He made his way to America but was knocked out by an unknown person and he woke up in a cell. Artemis was informed that he was not the son of Wolverine and Jean Grey. He asked who kidnapped him and Cable revealed himself as Artemis's father.

In a fury, Artemis rejected Cable for hiding his past from him all the time he knew he was on Earth. He used his telepathic powers to rip everything Cable knew out of his mind. Artemis learned that he was born after an affair between Cable and X-23, rather than Wolverine and Jean Grey. He also picked up some information on Deadpool, who knew more about Artemis than Cable did.

Deadpool

Before he went to find Deadpool, Artemis created a costume for himself, in hopes that it would make things easier for him.

Artemis's first costume

It didn't take long for Artemis to track Deadpool to California. He approached him peacefully, but Deadpool, as insane as he is, attacks Artemis. Of course, if he knew who he was, he would not have acted this way.
Artemis, who was easily angered, wrongly decided he didn't care about his past and he just wanted to kill Deadpool.

Artemis vs Deadpool

The battle lasted nearly two days, since both of them had extremely fast healing factor. When Deadpool finally got it through to Artemis that he cannot be killed, he decided to use his telepathic abilities to take him out. When Deadpool woke up, Artemis explained his situation. Deadpool quickly remained and explained that X-23 gave birth to Artemis not long after "Cable's" death, and she was under the impression that Deadpool was the father. X-23 chose to wipe her own memory of her and Cable's relationship, and of Artemis. Deadpool took him in and raised for almost a year before he was lost and found by the Skrull, J'onn.
Deadpool told Artemis he never saw him again after that. Artemis told him that he was raised in space and his adoptive Skrull father used technology in order to make him appear as a Skrull and have shape-shifting abilities.

Artemis's Skrull form

Deadpool told Artemis he should return to his father, but Artemis refused and then became angry with Deadpool. He left his costume behind and rented an apartment in Kansas in an attempt to escape from everything.

Joining the X-Men

However, his desired solitude did not last long. Deadpool had told Wolverine about Artemis's existence. Wolverine found him and talked with him, requesting that Artemis join the X-Men. He asked if he could meet his mother, and Wolverine said that it could be arranged. Artemis accepted the offer, but did not plan on staying.

After joining the X-Men, Artemis read his grandfather's mind and learned he only wanted Artemis on the team to talk some sense into his other grandfather, Cyclops, who had recently gone rogue. Artemis confronted Wolverine and quit the X-Men, but before he could leave, Kitty Pryde, who he had befriended, begged him not to leave. He apologized to her and said he might come back, eventually.

Artemis decided, for some reason, to find Cyclops and talk to him. Artemis finds Cyclops's base and attempts to explain everything to him. After mentioning Jean, Cyclops loses his temper and attacks Artemis, who manages to dodge a few of the attacks, but Cyclops is assisted by Magneto who uses Artemis's X-Man outfit against him.

Artemis wakes up in a cell, with Cyclops standing in front of him. He asks him to finish his story, but Artemis, who was angry at him, ripped into his mind in order to get information. However, he accidentally looks back on Scott's entire life.

Death and Return

After the intrusion of Cyclops's mind, both he and Artemis collapse under the pressure. Artemis wakes up in a white, shining room. He looks around and wonders if he is dead. He looks around and sees shadows moving in the corners. He demands that they show them self. So, J'onn, his adoptive Skrull father, reveals himself. He tells Artemis his mind has caved in and he is at a crossroads. He explains that it is up to Artemis whether he lives or dies from this point on. Artemis takes a little bit to ponder the decision. He realizes there is so much more he doesn't know, so much more he needs to do. He then decides to use his powers to read J'onn's mind to see if he is telling the truth. He discovers this is a mental image put in his mind by Psylocke. He decides to reverse it back onto her, however, things don't go as he plans and Artemis is killed.

However, his undiscovered mutant power erupts and he is brought back to life almost immediately after. And, he is imbued with the Life Force of all reality, giving the power to raise the dead. Artemis fears his new powers and erupts into space.

Artemis imbued with the life force

Artemis spends a month in space attempting to burn out his life powers, hoping he could return without the fear of killing anyone else. It didn't take long before he was able to use his other powers to separate himself from the Life Force, turning into an entity of death, wanting revenge on Artemis. However, he was able to escape back to Earth. His first thought was to go to the X-Men for help. He learned that in the time he was gone, Cyclops had rejoined the X-Men, but he was in a coma because of what Artemis did. He also discovered Kitty had begun a relationship with Iceman. He then went to the Avengers for help, but they were occupied with Ultron, so Artemis decided it was up to him to stop the Death Entity.

Defeating Death

Artemis armored himself with Hawkeye's Bow, Captain America's Shield, Spider-Man's Web-Shooters, Mjolnir, a Vibranium knife, and two pistols. He flew into space to fight the Death Entity, knowing he won't make it out alive. Once he reaches space, he clashes with the Death Entity right away, wounding it greatly.

The Death Entity

They battled for an hour until Artemis finally amplified Mjolnir's power using his telepathy, he cast the Death Entity into the sun, but the backlash was too much for him to handle.

Exiles

The Exiles

However, before he could be killed, Artemis was swept away from reality and dumped into the Forest beyond Space and Time. He is confronted by a variation of the Exiles, consisting of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Thing, Wolverine, Daredevil, and Luke Cage. They told him that their former member, Iron Fist had died and he was his replacement. Artemis begged to be brought back to his reality, but they told him that wasn't an option. In defeat, Artemis accepted membership into the Exiles.
After joining them, he discovered there were alternate versions of himself, though much less powerful, some versions were even children of Cyclops and Jean Grey, not Cable and X-23. This reminded Artemis of his desire to meet his mother. During one mission, the Exiles had to fight the Celestials, and Artemis was captured and experimented on. They gave him a new suit of armor with extreme capabilities.

Artemis as Guardian

He used this new suit to destroy the Celestial's ships, but they exploded and he was somehow sent back to his home reality, and the Exiles were under the impression that he died.

Return to Earth-7

Artemis triumphantly returned to Earth and found only two days had passed since he defeated the Death Entity. He went back to the X-Men and used his new found powers to bring Cyclops out of his coma. When Wolverine apologized and offered for Guardian to rejoin the X-Men, he refused, but said he will help out when he is needed. But before he could leave, Wolverine told him that X-23 has been corrupted by HYDRA. Guardian quickly found her and attempted to free her from HYDRA's clutches, but Red Skull would not allow Guardian to steal his top lieutenant. Guardian then shot Skull in the chest and escaped.

He decided to go back to Deadpool, who adopted him and they began to bond. One day, Deadpool took Artemis to the Circus where he saw clowns for the first time and developed a fear of them.

The Clown that gave Artemis his fear

Crusaders

A few weeks had passed and Artemis finally turned eighteen, after everything that had happened recently. He said goodbye to Deadpool and decided to find out who else he was related to. When he learned that Daken was his "uncle" he decided he did not want to know anymore about his family.

He joined a variation of the New Avengers, called the Crusaders, which consisted of Doctor Octopus, Lightspeed, Captain Marvel, Hulkling, Wiccan, James Barnes, Invisible Woman, and Black Panther. Artemis became good friends with Hulkling, being able to relate with the fact that are both of (somewhat) Skrull heritage. However, he strangely found his best friendship in the former Spider-Man rogue, Doctor Octopus. One day, Artemis fell in love with a woman he rescued from a burning building but she later proved to be a psychopath called Hotsreak, who had actually set the fire.

Artemis bonded to the Venom Symbiote

He later began a relationship with Lightspeed, which did not last very long, due to her falling in love with the Runaway, Karolina Dean. However, they remained close friends.

Venom

Artemis would later encounter the Venom and it bonded to him, destroying his Celestial Armor. At first, Artemis used the symbiote to his advantage, it made him stronger and faster, it even enhanced his telepathy. However, it was slowly making him darker, angrier, eviller. However, unlike other hosts, he was able to detect the symbiote's deception and control it with his telepathy, but it only became angrier and stronger, until it nearly shattered Artemis's mind and he forced them apart and burned the Venom Symbiote until nothing was left of it.

After Artemis lost both the symbiote and his Celestial armor, he refused to use his telepathy in the fear that he could shatter his own psyche. He took a leave of absence from the Crusaders and decided to rent an apartment. While there, he befriended his neighbor, Zelda Reyes. They began to go out with each other and Artemis was starting to like his life as a normal person, that is until Zelda was killed by Hotstreak, who had convinced herself that Artemis still loved her. He took the risk and used his mental powers to put Hotstreak in a coma.

Alpha-X

James Rhodes talks with Artemis

At Zelda's funeral, James Rhodes, who formerly acted as War Machine, approached Artemis with a proposition. James offered to cure Artemis of his mutant powers if he joined S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new strike force, Alpha-X. Artemis said he would join, if they would help free X-23 from HYDRA's clutches. James agreed and brought Artemis to the newly built Triskellion. Artemis was informed that Alpha-X will consist of him, War Machine, Hawkeye, Magik, Agent Phil Coulson, and Quicksilver. Their mission was to infiltrate Apocalypse Island, formerly called Genosha, and free Magneto from Apocalypse's jail so that can reveal the secrets to killing Apocalypse once and for all before his invasion reaches America.

When they reached Apocalypse Island, Artemis, War Machine, and Magik were part of the group that would go to Apocalypse. He easily defeated War Machine, but Magik proved a challenge for him. While she was keeping him busy, Artemis tried to read his mind and put him in a coma but he realized Artemis's plan and attacked him. He temporarily paralyzed Apocalypse and told Magik to get War Machine and the others out. She did as she was told without hesitation.

Horseman of Apocalypse

After Alpha-X had left the Island, War Machine scolded Magik for leaving Artemis behind, but she said he told her to. James then told them that they were going to honor Artemis by freeing X-23 from HYDRA's control.

However, Apocalypse did not kill him.

Artemis as Pestilence

Artemis was altered into Apocalypse's new Horsemen of Pestilence. Artemis then began the hunt for the other three Horsemen. Using his memories, he abducts Kitty Pryde, Deadpool, and Cable. However, before Apocalypse could alter them as well, they were able to free Artemis from Pestilence and they all escaped Apocalypse Island.

Restoring X-23

When Artemis returned to civilization, he was contacted by James Rhodes, who said they had managed to capture X-23 and they are working on turning her back to normal. Artemis rushed to the Triskellion and James told him he needed to use his telepathy to piece X-23's mind together. He was successful and he put her memories of him back into her head and they reconciled with each other, after everything Artemis had been through, that was one of the happiest moments of his life.

The New Iron Man

With everything happening so fast, Artemis hadn't even realized that with no celestial armor, and no symbiote, he didn't have a uniform anymore. He went to James, who was friends with Iron Man.

Artemis as Iron Man

He got an appointment with Tony and he asked if he could use one of the Iron Man armors. Tony, who had recently decided to marry Pepper Potts, told Artemis he can be the new Iron Man, only temporarily as Tony gets settled into his marriage. Artemis accepted the offer and became the new Iron Man.

Goblin Saga

When Artemis got word that there was a new Green Goblin, he went to Oscorp to investigate. When at Oscorp, he crossed paths with Spider-Man, who was also trying to find the new Green Goblin. The two decided to team-up to find him. They interrogated the now "reformed" Norman Osborn and he confessed that he sold the Goblin suit, glider, and equipment to J. Jonah Jameson.

The two of them then went to the Daily Bugle to get answers out of Jameson. They discover the Bugle has been blown up but they manage to trace him to the old location for Oscorp. They discover Jameson has gone completely insane and became the new Goblin. They fight him and in the end, Jameson blows up the warehouse, killing himself, and injuring both Artemis and Spider-Man. Jameson is given a proper funeral, to which they both attend, and Artemis resigns as Iron Man, and decides to take a break from heroics.

Return of the Guardian

Artemis decides to go Doctor Strange, to see if he can conjure up a new Celestial Armor for him. Strange said it was impossible, however, it is still active but it is within the Venom symbiote. Artemis reminds him that he killed the Venom symbiote, so Strange takes him to the place of it's death and does a spell, which brings it back. Against Strange's orders, Artemis jumps into the symbiote and his suit is inside. He puts it on and bursts out of the symbiote. Guardian and Strange then manage to apprehend the symbiote and take it to the Triskellion in order to be bonded to a host that can act as the new Agent Venom.

Dark Spider-Man

Dark Spider-Man attacks Artemis

When Spider-Man's clone, Kaine, goes insane once more, he creates a Spider-Man suit variation and begins to commit crime. However, since Spider-Man, along with Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Wolverine, and Black Widow were on trial on Hala, Artemis decides it is his responsibility to take down Kaine. It took a while, but he eventually succeeded and Kaine was arrested.

All-New Avengers

The Future Hulk

When a future version of the Hulk came to the past to warn the heroes of the impending invasion of an alien race called the Regime. This new Hulk, calling himself "The Doctor" formed a team of All-New Avengers, consisting of Artemis, Spider-Woman, Iceman, Captain America, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Gambit. They defeated many of the Avengers' old enemies that hadn't been active for a long time, but one day, the Doctor had a vision and he told Artemis that he was what was luring the Regime to Earth.

The Regime

Artemis decided it was time to make his final sacrifice. He flew into space and confronted the leader of the Regime. Artemis said that they either turn back or die. The leader asks Artemis what he could possibly do to defeat an army. Artemis smiles and activates his armor's self-destruct sequence and he explodes, taking the entire Regime with him.

Artemis without his armor

However, Artemis's powers won't allow him to stay dead and he is alive by the time his body floats back to Earth. His destroying the Regime, altered the future, and the Doctor thanked him before returning to his own time.

Full Time X-Man

Hannah di Angelo

Artemis finally decided it would be best for him if he joined the X-Men full time. After joining, he met a girl named Hannah di Angelo, who had the power to shape-shift. They fell deeply in love and Artemis knew that he won't have to worry about losing this love. It wasn't long until the two of them were engaged.

However, their constant heroic act caused them to call off the engagement and take a short break. Both Artemis and Hannah wish to get back together but they both know it is safer to remain apart.

Collapse

Deadpool's mind collapses completely

One day, Artemis decides to go visit Deadpool, and he learns that he has gone broke and is living on the streets. His mind is more fragile than ever, and Artemis attempts to fix it. However, it has too much of an effect and Deadpool goes crazier than ever, believing that everyone wants to kill him, so he must kill them first.

Deadpool attacked Artemis and they battled, very similarly to the day where they first met. However, when Artemis tried to reach out to Deadpool, he responded with nonsense about "The Mutant Messiah" and "The Avengers Army". Artemis was forced to kill Deadpool by snapping his neck. He brought him back to the X-Mansion, hoping to find answers.

Answers

Artemis asks the most powerful, living telepath, Emma Frost to pry into Deadpool's mind and find out what happened. Emma informs him that he was visited by a man named Aster. He used his psychokinesis to remove Deadpool's inner voices. When Artemis asks about the Mutant Messiah, Emma says that Deadpool had been informed of Jean Grey's eventual return. She also said the Avengers Army is something under construction in HYDRA. They were kidnapping innocent people and giving them the powers of the Avengers. Artemis decided it was time to act and form his own team.

Distractions

Artemis as Velocity

Artemis was taken captive by a group calling themselves the Iniquity Collective. They took away and destroyed his armor. They also removed the x-gene from his body, which was extremely painful. Artemis no longer had mental powers or a healing factor. The Collective inserted a separate X-Gene into Artemis, which gave him super speed powers. They planned on experimenting with him further, but he used his new speed powers to break out and escape. Also, he managed to memorize where they were and leave the police a call all within a minute. Artemis decided he liked super speed way better than telepathy.

Brat Pack

Artemis decided if he was going to become Velocity instead of Guardian, he needed to adapt to his super speed. He began getting better at everything, because in his mind: faster = better. But it isn't that way to everyone else. His new found cockiness gave him the courage to ask Hannah to give their relationship a second chance, to which she refused, saying he has been acting like a jerk.

He then decided he didn't need Hannah. He was reminded by Emma, in secret, about the Mutant Messiah and the Avengers Army. This snapped Artemis back to reality and he decided to form a team. He went to some of his closest friends in the X-Men: Shark, Jack Frost, Spitfire, Brute, and Potential.

The Brat Pack

Artemis informed them of the Mutant Messiah and the Avengers Army, and he says he doesn't know which one will come first, but they both will. When Brute calls him out on believing on insane person, Artemis punches him in the face and tells him never to insult his father. Brute apologizes but continues to ask for proof. Artemis says it will come in time. Hannah was deeply hurt that Artemis did not invite her to join his team and she realized it was really over between the two of them.

When the Brat Pack went up against Aster, he killed them all except for Artemis and Ryder, so they went to the X-Men and Aster was defeated.

Mutant Messiah

Artemis decided after the Brat Pack was killed, that he needed to take a break from the action. He got rid of his Velocity costume and decided to dedicate his time to the Jean Grey School. When Emma Frost began detecting a stirring within the basement of the mansion, she identified it as the spirit of Jean Grey.

Jean Grey's spirit reaches out to Scott

Artemis remembered Deadpool's warning of the Mutant Messiah, and decided this was his chance to prove himself. He joined the small team of X-Men that will be approaching the black hole, led by Cyclops. When the black hole began growing larger, Cyclops and Artemis were sucked into it.

While inside, they discovered it was a whole new reality, a collage of everything from Jean Grey's life. Eventually they found Jean's spirit residing in her room, her spirit is her as a child. Cyclops attempted to reach out to her, but she saw him as Magneto and her powers acted on their own, attacking the two of them. When Artemis got close to her, their minds linked, and his old powers returned, causing him to lose his super speed. He used his new telepathy to pull her mind out of her current state, and all three of them returned to the Danger Room, however, Jean was still a young child, which caused Scott to be heartbroken.

Life at the Institute

After the whole "Mutant Messiah", Artemis was on the alert for the Avengers Army. He and Ryder had begun hanging out a lot more than they used to, and they decided not to talk about the Brat Pack. Also, Artemis had taken up a big brother-ly role to his now preteen grandmother. He decided not to tell her that he was her grandson, because it might spook her.

When Artemis attempted to reconcile with Hannah, she rejected him and she said she had fallen out of love with him, which really hurt.

Lexi Payne

After his rejection, Artemis went with Wolverine to recruit a new mutant, who could turn invisible.

This mutant's name was Lexi Payne, and she and Artemis became good friends fast. He convinced her to join the X-Men and it wasn't long until the two of them formed a relationship, much to Hannah's dismay.

Blue Bird

Artemis was given the mission to under cover in the Brotherhood of Mutants as Blue Bird. Nanite technology was used to alter his appearance, and he was given the false abilities of super fast flight.

Artemis undercover as Blue Bird

He joined Magneto's Brotherhood on Genosha and was quickly promoted to the senior team. He got on Magneto's good side and even became friends with him. He even began to fall for Magneto's daughter, Scarlet Witch, even though he was dating Lexi. Scarlet Witch kissed him and he asked for Magneto's permission to date her, which he granted.

When he gave the X-Men a status report, a team was sent in to take out the Brotherhood, and he was unsure which side to take. He quickly realized he was meant to be with Hannah, so he broke up with Wanda and decided he had to go find her. When he discovered Magneto was fighting with Hannah, he attacked him and saved her. He confessed how much he loved her, and they reconciled with a passionate kiss. When the Brotherhood was defeated, Artemis went back to his regular appearance and rejoined the X-Men with the simple code name of Artemis.

Mutants vs Humans

His superhero status as Artemis did not last long, as his powers would change yet again.

When a group called the Human Council developed cure for the mutant menace, they armed robots called Eliminators with cure bullets to go and hunt mutants. Their first target was the X-Mansion, where they managed to cure Artemis, Jean, and a few others.

They were taken to the jail, where they are studied. Artemis discovered they keep mutant genes in samples, and he decided if he was going to get everyone out, he needed to get to those samples. He managed to take out the guard that entered his cell and put on his costume. He snuck into the lab and knocked out or killed everyone in the room. he injected himself with several samples, giving him all new powers including telepathy, telekinesis, a healing factor, super speed, flight, fire powers, teleportation, super strength, electric blasts, and density shifting.

Artemis as Power Man

He freed all the prisoners and led them to safety. He then took on the name Power Man and began defending mutants, taking out all of the Eliminators and eventually getting the Human Council arrested.

Avengers Army

Almost a month had passed since the Humans vs Mutants war. Artemis had discovered to change between Power Man and his human form. He and Hannah were engaged once again, and Lexi had declared that she hates him. Power Man was also a member of the Avengers again, as well as the X-Men.

However, Artemis was getting more paranoid every day since he had heard nothing of the Avengers Army in months. He decided to do a little investigations. He visited Aster in Prison 42 in order to get some answers out of him. When Aster refused to tell Artemis anything, he used his telepathy to get inside his head.

The Avengers Army

He discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been taken over by an alien called a Torrent, a human-like race that can mimic appearances and personalities. The Torrents were forming an army of superpowered children, in order for their invasion to succeed. Artemis left to start forming an army of his own.

Artemis sends out a psychic message to any heroes and a few antiheroes, or even neutral villains. They all meet inside Avengers Tower, and he informs them of the Torrents' plan. When asked of his truthfulness, Artemis showed them all what Aster showed him, and they agreed to take down the Avengers Army, and the Torrents.

They all attacked the Triskellion were they found the Army was being held in pods underwater. The Torrent Nick Fury, unleashes the army and the greatest battle of all time ensues. When the Avengers end up winning, the walls are broken and the Triskellion begins flooding. Artemis takes the Torrent and tells him to call off the invasion. He does as Artemis says, who then tosses him into the roaring waters.

Endgame

Artemis as Downgrade

When Aster broke out of Prison 42, he found Artemis and Hannah's apartment. Hannah was gone, but Artemis was asleep. Aster used his powers to morph Artemis into a beast that calls itself Downgrade. His mind was lost within itself, he could only focus on one thing: Destroy.

He was quickly on the news, identified by reporters as "Atrocity". When people ran away from it, it would attack them, but it wasn't long until Captain America showed up and began to fight Atrocity. At first, he thought he was a new kind of symbiote, but eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't. Soon more Avengers showed up, but proved unable to defeat him.

When Hannah saw the news, and her home, Aster approached her. She informed her that Artemis was the Atrocity, and that she was the only one who could reverse the transformation by using her shape-shifting powers. She made a quick costume, and joined the Avengers in battling the Atrocity.

She told them her code name was Wonder, and that the Atrocity was Artemis. The Avengers stood back as Hannah tried to reason with him. It would have worked, had Aster not blasted him in the back, which caused him to lash out again. Hannah came up with a new plan. She told all of the Avengers to tackle him at once. Once he was on the ground, she ran up to him and grabbed his new, rough hide. She began shape-shifting randomly, and he turned into whatever she turned into. As the Avengers began to back off, she realized that he was mimicking her transformations. She transformed into Artemis, and he turned back into himself. He broke away before she could turn into anything else, and he was embraced by the Avengers, who were glad to have him back.

Within a week, the Avengers found Aster's dead body, with a drawing of Deadpool's mask on his back, with a knife stabbed through it, and into Aster's back.